Chapter 6: Civil Liberties Flashcards
(50 cards)
Bill of Rights consists of the first ___ amendments
10
The _____ Amendment provides several rights protections: to express ideas through speech and the press, to assemble or gather with a group to protest or for other reasons, and to ask the government to fix problems.
first
The ______ Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms.
Second
The _____ Amendment prevents the government from forcing homeowners to allow soldiers to use their homes. Before the Revolutionary War, laws gave British soldiers the right to take over private homes.
Third
The _____ Amendment bars the government from unreasonable search and seizure of an individual or their private property.
Fourth
The _____ Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes. It states that serious criminal charges must be started by a grand jury.
Fifth
The ______ Amendment provides additional protections to people accused of crimes, such as the right to a speedy and public trial, trial by an impartial jury in criminal cases, and to be informed of criminal charges.
Sixth
The ________ Amendment extends the right to a jury trial in federal civil cases.
Seventh
The ______ Amendment bars excessive bail and fines and cruel and unusual punishment.
Eighth
The ______ Amendment states that listing specific rights in the Constitution does not mean that people do not have other rights that have not been spelled out.
Ninth
The ______ Amendment says that the Federal Government only has those powers delegated in the Constitution. If it isn’t listed, it belongs to the states or to the people.
Tenth
Be able to explain the difference between civil liberties and civil rights
Civil liberties are freedoms guaranteed to us by the Constitution to protect us from tyranny (think: our freedom of speech), while civil rights are the legal rights that protect individuals from discrimination
Be able to explain the concept of selective incorporation through Barron v. Baltimore
In Barron v. Baltimore (1833), the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution’s Bill of Rights restricts only the powers of the federal government and not those of the state governments.
After the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court favored a process called “selective incorporation.” Under selective incorporation, the Supreme Court would incorporate certain parts of certain amendments, rather than incorporating an entire amendment at once.
Be able to list and explain each of the Five Freedoms in the First Amendment
The five freedoms it protects: speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government
Be able to explain the division between the separation of church and state and how it uses the Lemon Test (Lemon v. Kurtzman)
The establishment clause mandates a strict separation of church and state
According to the lemon test, if any of the following 3 conditions is not met, then the law is an unconstitutional violation of the establishment clause:
The law must have a secular legislative purpose
Law must not result from an excessive government entanglement with religious affairs
Laws must neither advance nor inhibit religious affairs
Be able to identify, define, and explain the different types of speech and if they are considered protected or not
Unprotected speeches consist of the following: obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement, fighting words, true threats, speech integral to criminal conduct, and child pornography.
Examples of protected speeches are:
- Hate speech
- Flag burning
- Protection of political spending
- Commercial Speech
- Symbolic Speech
- Student Speech
Be able to identify the significance of Gitlow v. New York, Chaplinsky
Gitlow v. New York – fundamental personal rights and liberties protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from the impairment by the states
Be able to identify the significance of Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire – The Supreme Court decision in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942), established the doctrine of fighting words, a type of speech or communication not protected by the First Amendment.
Chaplinsky, a Jehovah’s Witness, called a city marshal a “**ed racketeer” and “a damned fascist” in a public place. He was arrested and convicted under state law for violating a breach of the peace.
Be able to identify the significance of New York Times v. Sullivan
New York v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the freedom of speech protections in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution restricts the ability of American public officials to sue for defamation.
This case is about a full-page ad alleging the arrest of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for perjury in Alabama. The false statement’s intention was to destroy King’s effort to integrate public facilities and encourage black Americans to vote. Mr. Sullivan, the Montgomery city commissioner, issued a LIBEL SUIT against NYT and 4 blacks listed as endorsers of the ad, claiming that the allegations against Montgomery police defamed him personally. However, Sullivan did DIDN’T HAVE TO PROVE THAT HE was HARMED UNDER ALABAMA LAW.
Be able to explain the history of gun rights in the United States (District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago)
o 1) The Second Amendment protects “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,”
o 2) U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia in 2008 (District of Columbia v. Heller).
o 3) As a result, the Heller decision left open the question of whether the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments
o 4) Before 2010, the Supreme Court had never ruled on whether the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms was one of those fundamental rights that states could not infringe.
Be able to discuss the “due process” rights or the “rights of the criminally accused” found in amendments 4-8
o Fourth Amendment - Protections from Search and Seizure, Probable Cause
o Fifth Amendment - Right to Remain Silent, Protection from Self-Incrimination, right to a Grand Jury, Protection from Double Jeopardy
o Sixth Amendment - Right to be Informed of charges, right to counsel, right to confront witnesses, right to a Speedy Trial
o Seventh Amendment - (not incorporated) Right to a Jury in a Civil Trial
o Eighth Amendment - Protection from excessive bails and fines, Protection from Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Be able to identify and explain the five protections of the Fifth amendment
o Right to remain silent o Protection from self-incrimination o Right to a grand jury o Protection from double jeopardy o Eminent Domain
